In Canada I have seen a variety of systems too both for coloring belts and wearing Hakama.

I do think however more Dojos here go straight from white to black and somewhere at 3rd kyu and up Hakama start being worn.

I have trained in Judo with colored belts and in the last 12 years in Aikido no colored belts until black.

I was happy under both systems. However, if Aikido didn't have a ranking system itself I probably would have been less satisfied. I'm one of those people who need positive feedback at times that I'm progressing.

I have also seen at times students (not to many) who have a reverse snobbery about not coloring belts as in they are above going that route and have a superior attitude to training.

I'm not sure about wearing Hakama at any level unless the organization you train within all do it. I have heard more than once from a kyu rank student who got hurt when a senior person assumed they could go with a technique harder than they could. Granted the senior student should have avoided it but the fact is it happens.

This could be an arguement for an organization at least to systemize this kind of detail rather than have individual Dojo's decide wht they want to do.